Improvement ii uteeine suppoetees



Y y @uiten 'pistes l-,strut @filtri JAlunsA. MCRRELL, or CHICAGO, iLLiNois, .issienon To 'Huissen AND Y ISAAC siMMoNs, or saIframes,A MARYLAND.

'Lesers Para No.' 75,694, dass March 17, 1868.

'v` i' @its rtihnli hasta tu in tipa ttttns' patent mit mating pitt nf tigeA sulla.y

p TQ ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

'Be it known that I, JAMESA. MORRELL, oflChicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful'Iuiprovement'in4 Uterine Supporters; and I do hereby declare and `make known that thefollowing is a full, clear, and .exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters and iigures marked thereon, which form'part of this specication. i

.My invention 4consists in supporting the pessary, which receives the os uer', upon its stem or support, by means of' :1i-spring, or its equivalent, so as to'insure an elastic, yielding movement to the pessary, and at the sametimeto sustain the womb in the desired position without any rigid upwardbearing pressure upon the same.

My invention further consists in so constructing the stem, which supports the said pessary cfa uterine supporter, that the same can be lengthened or shortened, so as to place the pessary farther up or lower down in the vaginal passage, thus adjusting the instrument to suit different persons and' dierent cases.

To enable those skilledin the art to Vunderstand how to construct and usermy said invention, will proceed to describe the same with particularity, making reference, in so doing, to the aforesaid drawings, -in which- Figure represents a perspective view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the supporter; and

Figure 3 is averticaltceutral section of the same. p Y

Similar Yletters of reference in the several gure's denote the'sam'e parts of my invention.

VA represents the pessary, which is composed of hard orsoft rubber, or any other material appropriate for -the,purpose, and is provided with `a recess or cavity upon its top, marked a, to receive the os uterz', and with one or more perforations, b, to allow the fluids passing from the womb to escape. Into the lower part of the pessary a tube, B, is screwed, securing the same thereupon in such a manner as to permit it to be removed, it" i desired. Within said tubeB is arranged a spiral spring, C, of suiiicient strength and elasticity to sustain the weight of the pessary and its supporting-tube B, and to permit the required yielding movement of the same when in use, the upper end of said spring being secured to the upper end of -the tube bj a pin, c, or otherwise, as shown. Below said spring C, and sliding within the tube B, is a second tube, D, which is retained in position by means of a rod, E, 'havinga head upon its lower end, and passing'up through said tube D, as shown,l

i the vupper end of saidv rod being providedwith a cross-arm, d, or a screw fitting between the coils of the spring' C, so tha-'t the rotations of said rod, which ymay be effected by grasping the head below the tube D, wil 1`slide the tube D up within the tube B, to shorten the stem of the pessary, or down, so as to lengthen said stem, as may he preferred or desired. There is also a collar, e,'uponsaid rod, upon which the lower end of the spring CV rests, as shown.

It will he observed that, however high the cross-arm Il may be turned up 1n the coil ofthe spring, thecom pression of the spring takes place below the point at which d may'stand, leaving the upper part of the ,spring l -free to operate as desired. y

Y A stem-support, F, is attached to the' lower end ofthe tube D, by a ball-and-socket joint, J, or some other suitable hinge or joint, as shown, to allow the supporter to` open, as indicated by the dotted lines in fig. 2, to

adapt it Vto persons of'diierent abdominal configurations; or said stem-'support may be connectedto the stem `o `the pessaryrigidly,V if desired.' At the opposite end of the stem-support is a ring, or its equivalent, whereby the device issuspended upon an elastic strap, H, which is secured in any suitable manner, as shown`,.to a belt, L, worn around the person, or to any equivalent therefor. v

p It is obvious that auterine-supportcr, in which the pessary is supported upon a spring or elastic stem,

would tbe a very great improvement, even though the stem were not susceptible of being lengthened or shortened; and, also, that the so constructing of the stem that it may be lengthened or shortened, is avaluable improvement, even though thepessary has no elastic support upon its stem; and, also, that .the jointed attachment ofthe stem tothe stem-supporter would be of great convenience, even irfgkapplied to uterine supporters of the ordinary kinds in' use.

Itis also obvious that many mechanical equivalents may be used, whereby the desired results may be obtained, either separately or in combinationfand'l do notdesire to limit myself' to the particular mechanical means herein shown and described.

Having described the nature and construction of my in'ention, I will now specify what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

1. I claim the combination of a. pessary, A, tube B, spring C, tube D, and rod E, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. I claim connecting tile stem of a uterine supporter tothe stem-supporter by s, hinge or joint, so as to operate substantinly as described.

3.. I claim the combinetion of a pessary, A, .and its stem, constructed substantially as described, with'the jointed arm F, and the elastic strap H, arranged and operating in the mannerand for the Purposes specified.

JAS. A. MORRELL.

Witnesses:

W. E. MARKS, L. L. GosUnN.' 

